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"DANIEL ANDERSON WILSON...WAS a member of Paradox?!" Keigo asks in complete shock, staring at the logo in front of their screen before aggressively scratching his head in frustration. "Those princes, they really set me up here. Are they seriously trying to get me involved with such a dangerous brotherhood?"
"Okay, we gotta relax first. We don't know if he's even the one we're looking for. Look..." Max heads back to the whiteboard and points at the first task. "It says here that he's a man in white who carries the weight of his brother's past. Though they are not the same, he cannot seem to run away from his eldest's fiery brown eyes. See, this could still be anyone."
"Max, let's face it, even if you read that task a couple more times, every word points to this guy. And look, brown eyes!" Keigo insists, pointing at the picture on the screen, showing Daniel's eyes which were in fact brown.
Max takes a deep breath and massages his temple. If this was really the man he's looking for, then it's going to be a huge problem. Max has already been involved with Paradox because of what happened with River, and now this? Is PHD trying to get him killed?
"Alright, if this is him, then it's only the beginning. The task is to find out what his younger brother, Thomas Anderson Woods, is worried about. What weight is he carrying? The reason can't only be because Daniel's a member of Paradox. Daniel must have done something that's affecting Thomas till this day," Max says, walking back to the computer to check all the achievements Daniel was able to acquire while he was in J.S High.
"The invitation said that your task is to solve injustices, so what on earth could this guy have done that even his brother is suffering from it?" Keigo asks, staring at the screen of his computer as well.
"Here..." Max says, pointing at the screen so Keigo could see it too.
"Alpha Society?"
"He was a member of Alpha Society before he joined Paradox. Thomas Anderson Woods is the current leader of the same society. There has to be a connection here," Max says, running towards the whiteboard to write it down.
"Okay, there's that, but this is still too broad. How on earth are you going to connect all this together when one, no one even knows that Thomas and Daniel are brothers, and two, how will you prove any injustice between them? Ask them?" Keigo sarcastically asks him, and Max takes a deep breath and massages his temple again.
"This is like Omega Society all over again when Sky made us—" Max stops in an instant when he remembered something. He then rushes to the desk to grab the invitation to read it again. "That's it!" he shouts, making Keigo look back at him confusingly.
"What's...it?"
"The letter said that I can't discuss the task with anyone else but you, right? Well, it doesn't technically say I can't ask anyone for help. I can still do that as long as I don't discuss the main task with them," Max says, surprising Keigo.
"Did you just try to find a loophole for this?" Keigo asks, somehow impressed that Max was able to catch that on.
"So what now? Who on earth are you going to ask for help?"
Max touches the brooches on his collar and tells him, "Like what you said before, I'm protected by four brotherhoods. Well, these brotherhoods aren't just there to protect me now are they?"
...
"Are you sure about this?" Keigo asks before shoving bread in his mouth since he and Max had to rush to the cafeteria to grab something to eat first. After that, they secretly went to the brotherhood's building, at the Hall of Janus, where a certain brotherhood base could be found.
"Relax, it's not like she's going to eat you," Max says, finishing his iced coffee before throwing it in the bin. "If we need answers, she's our best bet. And besides, I only have five days to finish all these tasks, and there are three of them. If we can get the extra help, then that's better."
Keigo doesn't say anything anymore and just follows Max to a room at the end of the hallway. When they got there, Max takes a deep breath and was about to enter the room when someone suddenly coughed behind them. Max and Keigo immediately turned around to see who it was, and to their surprise, it was Max's dear friend, Felix Campbell.
"I knew it. You're with Kawanishi Keigo. I did see it right," Felix says as he approaches the two.
"Felix, I know this might look strange but—"
"You don't have to explain yourself. I know that it's about the invitation so don't say anything unnecessary that will end up ruining your chances of getting to that banquet," Felix tells Max before looking at Keigo. "And you...I've been keeping my eyes on you for a while now, Mr. Kawanishi Keigo."
"W-What's going on? Why are you here?" Keigo confusingly asks, surprised that Felix was even there in the first place.
Felix doesn't answer him and approaches him instead. He then grabs Keigo's necktie and pulls him down so their faces could level with each other. "So, are you still visiting your father, or are you still mad that he used you as an escape plan so he wouldn't get arrested."
Keigo's eyes widened from shock. He tries to push Felix off him, but surprisingly enough, despite Felix's small structure, he was strong. After all, Felix is still a brotherhood member.
"You've got a tainted background Kawanishi. I don't know why you're helping Max on this, and I don't really care, but if you try anything funny, or if you lay a single hand on him, your secrets won't be the only thing you'll run away from," Felix warns, and Keigo gulps in terror as Felix finally lets him go.
"You want to talk to Siren right?" Felix then asks as he looks back at Max with a serious expression.
Max still isn't used to this version of Felix, but he doesn't comment on it and nods his head anyway. "Yes. I need her help right now."
"She's inside," Felix says as he opens the door for him. Max thanks him and heads inside first. Keigo was about to follow, but then Felix stops him and immediately closes the door.
"What the hell man? What gives you the right to do that?" Keigo complains.
Felix smirks and pulls something out of his pocket so he could pin it to his collar. Keigo was confused for a second because he thought it was some kind of underling brooch, but when he looked closer, his eyes automatically widened from shock.
"Fuck."
Meanwhile, Max enters the dark room. It was utterly silent like the last time he went there, and the only light that could be found was the spotlights on top of the seven chairs in the middle of the room.
"This is quite nostalgic," Max says, turning around so he could face a tall figure who was actually standing behind him holding her famous cane. "Siren," Max greets, bowing to the masked marquis.
Siren nods her head to acknowledge Max's greeting. "It's a pleasure to have you here, my tamer, but I'm assuming that you're not here to simply chat," she says, her voice sweet and relaxing as always.
"That's right. I'm here to ask for your help," Max says straight to the point, not wasting any second.
"A favor?" Siren repeats, pausing for a couple of seconds before saying, "As you are the only white uniform who has my crown brooch pinned on your collar, a favor is something I can easily grant you. But first, I need to know what this favor is for."
Max takes a deep breath and was tempted to explain the situation, but he shakes his head and says instead, "I apologize Siren, but I can't say anything else. Please, fulfill this favor with no questions. That's all I'm asking."
Siren doesn't say anything and slowly approaches Max. When she was now standing in front of him, she suddenly pulls her sword out and points it at Max. "How brave of you to ask such a thing from me. It's almost like you're asking me to arrest someone without telling me if they're guilty or not."
Max gulps and glances at the sword that was inches away from his neck. He was about to explain to Siren why he can't say anything to him, but Siren then chuckles and puts the sword away. "That's what I like about you Max, always so fiery," Siren adds, putting her sword back and removing her mask so Max could see her face.
"Siren I—"
"River is fine. When we're alone you may call me River," River explains as he walks towards his seat at the front. "Now tell me, my little tamer, how can this humble marquis be able to serve you?" He asks before taking a seat.
"River, there's someone I need you to give a kiss mark to," Max finally says, and River was honestly surprised because he wasn't expecting Max to actually ask such a thing to him, especially after what happened to him with his other protectors.
"Oh, has this banquet riled you up so much that you're willing to use someone's secret now?" River asks, and Max was surprised that River already knew about the banquet even though he hasn't said anything about it yet.
"How did you know?"
"As you can see, I'm a master of secrets, but at the same time, that makes me the master of information. I know anything about anyone," River confidently says.
"And that's exactly why I'm asking this favor," Max then adds, and River's interest in this matter grew even more. "There's information that I need from this certain person. I'd ask him myself, but I'm afraid that if my assumption is wrong, something bad would happen. That's why I need your help in gathering information about rank 6 Thomas Anderson Woods of class IV-A" Max finally says, and River couldn't help but grin.
This was the excitement he was waiting for ever since he became the new leader of Crazy 8.
"Thomas Anderson Woods. That's a very powerful man and a very secretive white uniform. What exactly do you want to know about him?" River then asks him.
"That's the tricky part because I'm not entirely sure. I have a blank canvas and the information you get is what's going to paint it. But what I really need to know is his connection with his older brother. Get anything that connects to his brother. Anything would be fine," Max explains, and River scratches his chin and carefully thinks about it.
"This is going to be difficult because a kiss mark is usually given to someone to who we already have a secret. I don't know any secret regarding Thomas Woods, so I can't extract information from him. That's just not how it works," River explains, which made Max realize it too.
He thought of it for a while, and he was trying to weigh everything down. He could just change his plans now or move forward, but are they correct? Is the first injustice Thomas Anderson Woods? Is injustice even connected to him at all?
"I know a secret that you might be able to use," Max finally decides to say. He was now playing with fire. Now Max understands why this task was difficult and why the last one who received an invitation got expelled. These tasks lead to serious accusations. If Max was wrong with all this, then it's over.
"You do? Then I'm all ears. Don't worry, I won't tell," River says, and Max takes a deep breath and finally reveals, "He has a brother named Daniel Anderson Wilson...who was a member of Paradox."
River was quiet for a while, but then a grin slowly appears on his face, making the hair on Max's skin stand because he knows that it was a face that showed River's twisted excitement. "I see. That is quite a secret indeed," River says, standing from his seat and walking towards Max.
"Alright then, Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire. Regarding your favor, consider it done. I'll fulfill it as soon as I can."
"Thank you, my marquis," Max says, and River leans towards Max and kisses him on the cheeks. "Your secret's safe with me," he whispers before finally moving away.
Max doesn't say anything anymore and bows to River for one last time before heading out. "Alright Keigo, let's go," Max says when he got out of the room. But as soon as he closed the door behind him, he saw Felix pinning Keigo on the wall. It looked like they were fighting.
"Felix! What's going on here?!" Max shouts, running to where Felix was and pulling him away from Keigo. It might look like Felix is a white uniform but he's still a brotherhood member. Doing something like this to a white uniform in the open violates the White Uniform Protection Code. If someone sees Felix, he'll definitely get in trouble.
"Felix, calm down. What happened here? Tell me," Max asks again.
Felix was panting heavily, but he tries to calm down as he told Max, "I don't know why you're with him Max, and I don't know why he's helping you either, but as your friend...don't fucking trust him."
"W-What?" Max confusingly asks, but Felix pushes him and suddenly walks away, leaving Max speechless.
When Felix was gone, Max rushes to Keigo and aggressively grabs him by the collar, almost lifting him off the floor. "What the fuck did you do? What the hell did you tell him?"
"N-nothing, I swear. I didn't—" Before Keigo could even finish his sentence, Max pushes Keigo away and angrily tells him, "I'm with you because that fucking invitation told me to, but if you try to hurt any of my friends and think you'll get away with it just because you're helping me then you're dead wrong. Brotherhoods aren't the only ones I can tame serf, so you better fucking watch yourself."
Keigo's entire body freezes as Max's strong aura overpowers him. He couldn't move, and he couldn't even say anything, but as soon as Max lets go of him, Keigo starts breathing heavily. He didn't even know that he was holding his breath this whole time.
"We're done for today," Max declares, turning his back on Keigo and walking away from him so he could follow Felix.
"Felix!" Max calls out as he tries to catch up to him. He ran down the hall, looking for his friend who was obviously upset. Max knew Felix, and he knew what type of person he was. He knew that Felix is very serious about who he shows his tough persona. He wouldn't react like that out of the blue, that's why it's hard to believe that Keigo didn't say or do anything that would trigger such a reaction.
"Felix! Where are you?!" Max continues to shout. He was so occupied with finding his friend that he literally forgot where he was, so when he makes a turn to the next corridor, someone suddenly grabs him from behind and covers his mouth.
Max was surprised, but when he turned back, he was relieved that he saw a familiar face. It was the duke, Khian Augusto Zóbel de Ayala III of BND.
"Max, what are you doing? You're in the Hall of Janus. If the kings see you shouting like that, you'll get in big trouble. And you're no longer wearing your Sinclaire brooch too, which means the royals can easily touch you now," Khian warns in a soft voice, slowly removing his hand away from Max after pulling him to the side so no one could see him.
"I'm sorry. I was looking for Felix," Max tells him.
"I don't know where your friend is, but I'm sure Felix wouldn't be here," Khian answers since he doesn't know that Felix is a brotherhood member too. "You're lucky that I found you instead. Come on, I'll walk you out before anyone sees."
Max doesn't complain as Khian leads him out of the building. But while they were walking, Max couldn't help but steal glances at the duke. He wanted to ask about Thomas, but he didn't know if it was the right thing to do. Thomas is still a Rose, which means Thomas is still an important member of their brotherhood. Would BND feel betrayed if Max started accusing one of their own?
"Max, you know when you first enrolled in J.S High, your brother was pretty worried. He was scared, but at the same time, he knew that you needed to be here. He swore that whatever happens, he will protect you," Khian suddenly says, making Max look back at him with furrowed brows, confused as to why Khian would say that to him out of the blue.
"Remember when you first got the jack-in-the-box and you got taped in a toilet? How about the time Cj almost beat you to death? Your brother almost went crazy if Hans didn't calm him down on time," Khian explains further.
"What are you trying to say, Khian?" Max finally asks.
Khian stops walking and looks at Max, making Max stop walking too. "Out of all those instances Max, who else was there for your brother?" Khian asks him, and Max finally understood what he was trying to say.
"I was there. I was there during the incident with Jokers and Cigarettes, and you know why? It's because Marcus is my closest friend, and I promised him that I'd protect you too," Khian genuinely says, touching Max's shoulder so he could squeeze it. "So stop doubting. Say what you want to say even if you're unsure. I don't know about the other guys, but I am loyal to Marcus because he has done more for me than anyone else. And to Marcus, you are the most important thing to him."
Max was surprised to the point where he couldn't even say anything, but then he started laughing, not because he was making fun of Khian, but because he couldn't believe that Khian was able to read what was on his mind.
"I seriously forget that you're a duke," Max says, and then he looks around and grabs Khian's hand, pulling him away to a more secluded area so the others wouldn't be able to see or hear them.
When they were finally alone, Max takes a deep breath and moves close to Khian. "Thomas Anderson Woods...do you know anything about Thomas Anderson Woods?" Max finally asks him.
"Thomas? Well of course I know Thomas, he's our underling," Khian says, obviously confused why Max would bring that up.
"No, I mean..." Max pauses for a second and moves even close so he could whisper, "I mean his brother. Do you know anything about his brother?"
"His brother?" Khian asks, even more, confused after hearing Max's new question. "I don't know what's going on Max, but Thomas doesn't have a brother. He's an only child, it said so on the profile he gave us before we recruited him," Khian explains to him.
"What?"
Max furrows his brows, unsure as to what was real or what was not. It was just like what the banquet invitation said, who is wrong, who is right? Who should you believe in when there are only people who lie?
Has Thomas been lying to BND? Is he so scared that they'd find out who his brother is that he'd even fabricated his own document? Or has Keigo been leading him to the wrong answers all along?
This was a game of trust, a game that PHD wanted Max to play. Because like what the invitation said, Max had every quality except one, and that single quality that the princes wanted to test was Max's ability to see what's on the surface, and what's buried underneath.
Will Max be able to solve the injustices and be able to attend the banquet?
Well, we still have four days left to find out.
- END -